Introduction

Simple: OnePlus got the newer and more powerful Snapdragon 821 system chip and heard users' complaints about the not-so-great battery life on the OnePlus 3, and it took the opportunity to improve on these two key aspects of the experience.

Along with those improvements, it increased the price: the OnePlus 3T 64GB model costs $440, $40 more than the OnePlus 3 with the same amount of storage. There is also a new, 128 gig option for the OnePlus 3T for $480. Yes, this is slightly more expensive than before, but when you compare it to phones with similar hardware and screen size like the Google Pixel XL, the OnePlus 3T is still nearly half their price.

Specs, however, don’t tell us much about the actual experience of using the OnePlus 3T: that’s why we’ve been using the phone over the past week to tell you how good of a device it is. Join us below for the full OnePlus 3T review.

Design

Same refined, premium design as the OnePlus 3, the pre-applied screen protector is a nice touch.

In terms of its physical design, the OnePlus 3T is the exact same phone as the OnePlus 3: same form, same thickness, all to a degree that guarantees that OnePlus 3 cases fit the 3T perfectly.

There is one thing changed in the outwards appearance, though, and that is color: the new 3T features a darker, ‘gunmetal’ grey that looks great. The old light silver shade of the OnePlus 3 is no longer available. There is also a second, soft gold color option, but that one is only available on the 64GB OnePlus 3T and is in very limited supply.

Just like the OnePlus 3, the 3T comes with a pre-applied screen protector right out of the box: and just like before it’s a little too narrow, not covering the full width of the screen, and when you use it you constantly feel its sharp edge interfere with the otherwise smooth glass surface. Yes, this is a minor thing, but you can’t help but notice it. OnePlus is also selling a better, full-width $20 screen protector on its official website, and we recommend considering buying one.

Then, there is the mute switch. It’s an extremely convenient little thing that we’ve come to appreciate more and more. We wish more phones had it.

Along with the launch of the 3T, the company also brings an optional, separately purchased new case: an ebony wood option that looks great. This brings it to a total of six cases made by OnePlus itself: there’s the signature sandstone one, a bamboo one, a karbon one, as well as a few wooden cases. While they are not meant to protect from heavy drops, they do an excellent job at being light and stylish, as well as protecting from scratches.

Display

Great display: you can choose between the default vivid color mode and sRGB mode, which is for those who want accurate colors.

The OnePlus 3T features a 5.5-inch Super AMOLED with a resolution of 1080 x 1920 pixels. And it looks great.

Some might be concerned about sharpness: yes, it’s not as sharp as Quad HD screens, but the difference is very hard to notice in real life, and you really have to look at the screen from very up close to notice it’s not as sharp. It’s a non-issue.

In terms of colors, the default setting of the screen is for vivid colors that pop right at you, whites are a bit on the blue side, and while technically the colors are not very well calibrated, this is the typical default AMOLED look that many users like.

Luckily, it’s not the only option: many users, including photography professionals and others who care for accurate rather than impressive color, would prefer the sRGB color standard. You can switch to it easily: go into Settings > Display > Screen Calibration, and select the sRGB option. We’ve measured the phone in this mode as well, and it is very well balanced, with very accurate colors. Try both color modes and choose the one you like more, we tend to go for sRGB.

We also find the screen is not too reflective and is comfortable and easy to read outdoors.

The CIE 1931 xy color gamut chart represents the set (area) of colors that a display can reproduce, with the sRGB colorspace (the highlighted triangle) serving as reference. The chart also provides a visual representation of a display's color accuracy. The small squares across the boundaries of the triangle are the reference points for the various colors, while the small dots are the actual measurements. Ideally, each dot should be positioned on top of its respective square. The 'x: CIE31' and 'y: CIE31' values in the table below the chart indicate the position of each measurement on the chart. 'Y' shows the luminance (in nits) of each measured color, while 'Target Y' is the desired luminance level for that color. Finally, 'ΔE 2000' is the Delta E value of the measured color. Delta E values of below 2 are ideal.

The Color accuracy chart gives an idea of how close a display's measured colors are to their referential values. The first line holds the measured (actual) colors, while the second line holds the reference (target) colors. The closer the actual colors are to the target ones, the better.

The Grayscale accuracy chart shows whether a display has a correct white balance (balance between red, green and blue) across different levels of grey (from dark to bright). The closer the Actual colors are to the Target ones, the better.

Apple and SPECIALLY Samsung. Don't take notes. Continue to make excellent products at $550-750 range and continue to spend those billions they spend in R&D, which results in newer technologies and innovations.

What is achieved by Samsung's R&D? Boom battery? OnePlus shows how quick charge can be implemented without big bang. At least that can be learn. Mute button is exellent featurr and i hope more Android OEM's to implement it.

Its a great value for the first 6 months after its just not that great value. Right now where I live S7 edge with much better camera, screen, battery and water resistance is just 100eur more expensive.

It definitely doesn't have a MUCH better camera. I've seen the samples side by side in several sites, not to mention my sister has one. And no way in you know where would I trade OnePlus' amazing UI for frickin TouchWiz and the lag fest that will ensue months down the line.

I have the 3T 128GB version, and I wanna say their battery test isn't good at all. It seems to favor phones that throttle early and/or have low thermals. I took screen shots, so give me a moment to look at them again...

...OK, so I use a dark theme, dark browser, etc. I have mixed use between listening to music through headphones and the speaker (which is fairly loud and clear), surfing the web, playing some games (ffrk, emulators), reading documents, emails, and using the camera. Sync was always on. Wifi was on most of the time, else it was 4G. It was awake 75% of the time...100% to 20% got me over 7.5 hours of screen on time.

In my eyes, the OnePlus 3T is a phenomenal phone for its price. With the recent addition of F2FS storage, daily, real world usage of this phone is a snap of a finger quick! I'm surprised they didn't opt out to go for the IMX398, and the older 8mp 1.4 pixels front cam was much preferable. Al though I guess we can see that with the OnePlus 5.

I agree. Whatever they did with the changes in the algorithm for white balance was all they needed. The imx398 would've been great, but perhaps they're saving that for the next OnePlus.

I believe Carl also said something about them not having time to go through testing and implementation of a new module.

Either way, they do amazing with this generic main camera module and their HQ mode. If you look at the camera comparisons on this site and on gsmarena, you'll see that it's pictures rival the S7 family. Samsung's algorithm over sharpens, over contrasts, and over saturates. Just look at this site's comparison...look at the asparagus for example. Look at the guy's face.

Samsung cams really don't impress me anymore. They actually did very well and looked very balanced in the past. Now, they're an over saturated, contrasty mess. Too many people drink the fanboy punch for Samsung.

And another thing, gsmarena just reviewed an opportunity phone that uses that sensor paired with an f/1.7 aperture (but no OIS), and it matches the OnePlus 3 in lowlight more or less, but is a bit blurrier and less detIled in good lighting.

Interestingly enough, they have OnePlus 3T samples up, though the review isn't up yet. They didn't use HQ mode in dark this time, that or they tried using HDR mode for the lowlight. They don't look so great there, but I have the phone and they actually look awesome.

After having bought the Pixel XL for $770 + tax, it pains me to see almost identical specs for $330 less. Also I have half the storage, as I bought the 32gb model with the promise of "unlimited original quality" photo cloud storage. To Googles credit, this feature is incredibly easy to utilize and does free up space.

I found my self baffled at the idea that I spent $800+ on a phone when I just bought a new Gaming Console with specs that make my phone look like an "Atari" for half that cost! Ok that was rash, but my frustration still abides. All things considered, I hope the "Big Boys" do take notice! Now I realize innovation does have a cost, but we can only hope this "Pay to Play" model does not persist....!

"This is an unexpected result, but it could be partly because of the newer and more powerful processor requiring more power for more intense operations"
The Snapdragon 821 is more power efficient than the 820.

This is an unexpected result, but it could be partly because of the newer and more powerful processor requiring more power for more intense operations"
The Snapdragon 821 is more power efficient than the 820.

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